Fluid current meter

ABSTRACT

Two pairs of acoustic transducers are provided for obtaining fluid current velocity measurements. The pairs of transducers are mounted in a supporting ring which introduces a controlled source of error in the measurement process, the configuration however resulting in a nearly constant error regardless of flow direction. The constant error introduced by the ring supporting structure may be easily corrected by a scaling factor in the signal processing circuitry utilized to compute fluid velocity.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention in general relates to oceanographic instrumentation, andmore particularly to a meter for obtaining current velocity anddirection.

2. Description of the Prior Art

In oceanographic studies, various sensors are utilized for obtainingoceanographic data. One such sensor or instrument is a fluid currentmeter which is placed at a fixed geographical point and measures theflow past the point as a function of time. The measurements obtained areutilized, in conjunction with other data to develop an understanding ofthe kinematics and dynamics which control the circulation in a sectionof an ocean, river or estuary, for example.

A variety of sensors exists for performing such measurements howevermany oceanographic studies require a high probability of successfulperformance over a relatively long deployment, thus ruling out currentmeters with moving parts exposed to the water environment.

Moving parts are eliminated in acoustic type current meters whereinacoustic transducers are provided for transmitting acoustic pulsestoward one another and the difference in the travel time of acousticpulses due to current, is obtained thereby providing an indication offluid velocity. Generally two pairs of transducers are utilized witheach being contained within a probe, or post. When current flow is inline with two of the posts, an error is introduced into the readinghowever the error is correctable for that current direction. In realityhowever the current direction may vary within 360° and unless thecurrent direction is known, proper correction cannot be made to theoutput reading. Proper correction could be made if a separate sensorwhich weathervaned with the current were provided but as previouslystated one requirement for such meter is that it have no moving partsexposed to the water environment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a fluid flow velocity measuringinstrument which requires no moving parts exposed to the ambient watermedium and which provides a highly accurate output indication of currentvelocity even in the presence of variable current directions.

The current meter includes a plurality of pairs of acoustic transducersmounted in a support means which is in the form of a ring. Thetransducers of each pair are in acoustic communication with one anotheralong an acoustic path and in a preferred embodiment two pairs oftransducers are utilized with the acoustic paths within the center ofthe ring defining a measurement plane.

The ring structure preferably extends for 360° in the measurement planeto offer an obstruction to current flow regardless of current direction.This controlled obstruction modifies the resultant output readings in amanner to provide for a constant error which can be easily corrected.

In one embodiment the cross section of the ring is in the form of ahydrofoil which results in a low magnitude of flow error and which aidsin reducing error when the ring is tilted, within certain limits,relative to current flow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an acoustic fluid current meter of the prior art;

FIGS. 2 and 2A illustrate one embodiment of the present invention, FIG.2A being a cross-sectional view along lines AA of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 3 and 3A are another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3Abeing a cross-sectional view along line AA of FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of two of the support posts of FIG. 1, and FIGS.4A and 4C illustrate curves of instantaneous fluid velocity between theposts for various relative angles of current direction;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of an embodiment of the present invention, andFIGS. 5A through 5C are velocity curves for various angles of currentdirection, as in FIGS. 4A through 4C;

FIG. 6 are curves illustrating a true cosine response and the actualresponse of the prior art and present invention, as a function of flowdirection;

FIG. 7 are curves illustrating relative errors as a function of currentdirection for the prior art and the present invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates the curves of FIG. 6 with correction applied to thereadouts of the present invention;

FIG. 9 illustrates a portion of the ring of FIG. 5 and serves toillustrate certain distances;

FIG. 10 illustrates a cross-section of the embodiment as illustrated inFIG. 3, at a certain tilt angle with respect to current direction;

FIG. 11 is a curve illustrating error as a function of tilt angle;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic section forobtaining velocity measurements; and

FIG. 13 is a view looking up at the support ring coupled to a housingfor the electronic portion of FIG. 11.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a fluid current meter ofthe prior art. The meter, which may be constructed without moving parts,includes four transducer support posts 10 to 13 carried by a base member16 and including at their upper end four acoustic transducers 18 to 21respectively.

Transducers 18 and 19 are arranged to transmit acoustic energy towardone another along an acoustic path 24, and similarly acoustictransducers 20 and 21 transmit acoustic energy toward one another alonga second acoustic path 25 perpendicular to acoustic path 24.

When positioned in the water environment, any fluid flow causes relativespeeding up or slowing down of the acoustic energy transmitted,depending upon current direction, and the difference in time travel overpaths 24 and 25 may be utilized to compute fluid flow parameters. Whenthe current flow is along the line of one of the perpendicular acousticpaths, the wake behind the leading post and ahead of the trailing postslows the water reducing the average speed along the path and thisvelocity defect within the wake along the acoustic path is considered tobe an important factor that affects the accuracy of the system.

If the current direction were always parallel to one of the acousticpaths, then the error introduced by the wake flow could be calculatedand the output reading properly scaled to give an accurate indication.In actuality however and particularly when deployed in the ocean, thecurrent varies its direction so that any error correction applied forcurrent from one direction would not be applicable for other directions.

The present invention provides for a controlled constant errorregardless of current direction and one embodiment is illustrated inFIG. 2. A plurality of pairs of transducers, for example transducers 30and 31 constituting a first pair and 32 and 33 a second pair areprovided, as in the prior art, for transmitting acoustic energy towardone another along respective acoustic paths 35 and 36. A support means40 contains the pairs of transducers and is constructed and arranged toextend along a generally circular path from one transducer to a next soas to provide an obstruction to fluid flow at angles ±θ relative to anacoustic axis. In the preferred embodiment the support means takes aform of a continuous ring so as to provide structural rigidity and to beinterposed in the path of the current for 360°.

Although each transducer has an associated beam pattern, acoustic energytransmitted from one transducer to an opposing transducer may beconsidered to travel along an acoustic path. For explanatory purposes,the crossed acoustic paths will be considered to be coplanar with theplane being termed herein the measurement plane, although it is to beunderstood that the actual relative positioning of the acoustic pathsmay vary, depending upon the thickness of the ring.

FIG. 2A illustrates a cross-section along lines AA of FIG. 2 and it isseen that the ring which for example may be stainless steel, has acircular cross section of diameter d.

The transducer 30 is positioned within a notch 47 of the ring and iscovered with a potting material 50 having the same, or similartransmission characteristics as the ambient water medium, polyurethanebeing one example and shaped to conform with the cross sectional shapeof the ring 40.

The transducer 30 may be of a variety of conventional designs and in theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 2A the transducer includes an activecrystal 54 such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT) coupled to a backingmember 55 such a syntactic foam. Wires (not illustrated) may beconducted to the transducer 30 for signal conduction by way of a groove58 machined or otherwise formed into the ring 40. In order to preservethe cross-sectional shape, the polyurethane material conforming to thecircular shape of the ring in the notch 47 may be also placed in thegroove 58 as indicated at 59.

FIG. 3 illustrates another embodiment of the invention which includes aplurality of transducers 60 to 63 oriented as illustrated fortransmitting acoustic energy along respective acoustic paths 66 and 67and carried by a support ring 70. In order to reduce turbulence thecross section of the ring 70 is in the shape of a hydrofoil (airfoil) asillustrated in FIG. 3A showing a cross section along the lines AA ofFIG. 3.

The ring 70 has a rounded leading edge 72 and a tapered trailing edge 73with an overall length l and a maximum thickness t. The transducer 60,similar to transducers 30, includes an active crystal 78 with a backingmember 79 located in a notch 80 of the ring 70. As was the case withrespect to FIG. 2A, the transducer 60 is potted in a polyurethanematerial 82 formed to the hydrofoil shape. A groove 85 is provided forthe signal communicating wires which are conducted to the transducer 60through a channel or groove 87, both grooves 85 and 87 being filled inwith a potting material 89.

The particular dimensions will depend upon various factors such asmaximum current to be encountered. By way of example, the ringillustrated in FIG. 2 has been constructed with the dimension d equal to0.25 inches (0.635 centimeters). The outside diameter of the ring was12.5 inches (31.75 cm.) with the inside diameter being 12.0 inches(30.48 cm.).

The ring of FIG. 3 was constructed with an overall length l of 1.25inches (3.175 centimeters) and a thickness t equal to 0.25 inches (0.635centimeters). The outside diameter of the ring was 14.00 inches (35.56cm.) with the inside diameter being 11.50 inches (29.21 cm.). Distancebetween transducer pairs as measured from their front surface, was 12inches (30.48 centimeters).

FIG. 4 illustrates a plan view of two transducer support posts 92 and 93of the prior art. The acoustic path in the water between these posts isassumed to be between points 94 and 95 with the distance between thesepoints being equal to x_(n). Thus in FIGS. 4A through 4C, the distancex_(n) is plotted on the horizontal axis from x_(o) to x_(n) inincrements.

In FIG. 4, arrow 97 represents current in line with the acoustic pathbetween the transducers, and posts 92 and 93, and arrow 98 representscurrent at any angle θ with respect to the acoustic path. In FIG. 4A,curve 100 represents the instantaneous velocity of the current in theacoustic path between the two posts as a function of distance behind theleading post. The velocity curves illustrated herein are generalizedapproximations for illustrative purposes since the actual plot is afunction of a number of different variables such as post diameter, pathlength, drag coefficient, and Reynolds No., for example.

In FIGS. 4A through 4C, the vertical scale representing instantaneousvelocity has a maximum value designated v_(A) which represents thecomponent of fluid flow along the acoustic path 96 in the absence of anyobstruction, that is from points 94 to 95 and as though the posts andtransducers were not there.

FIG. 4A illustrates the velocity plot for current having the samedirection as arrow 97. With the current in line with the acoustic path,that is θ equals 0°, the velocity just past the post is 0 with the valueincreasing as the distance x increases up until some leveling off value.This value is below v_(A) since the velocity can never reach a truemaximum with this limited distance because of the presence of the posts.An average velocity however is obtained and this average velocity is theactual velocity measured and is designated v_(m) with the differencebetween the measured velocity v_(m) and the maximum possible velocityv_(A) being equal to Δv. v_(m) is located at a position such that thearea 102 between curve 100 and the dotted line level v_(m) is equal tothe area 103 between the dotted line level v_(m) and the remainder ofcurve 100.

FIG. 4B illustrates the situation for a current direction θ of 15°. Ifit is assumed, for the purposes of explanation, that the current has amagnitude of unity (1), the magnitude of v_(A) in FIG. 4B would be 0.966(1×cosine 15°). Since the flow is less obstructed by the post thevelocity curve 105 levels out at a distance closer to the post than thatof curve 100 of FIG. 4A. The actual measured value v_(m) is located at aposition where the area 107 is equal to the area 108, with thedifference between the measured value v_(m) and the maximum actual valuev_(A) being designated Δv.

Curve 4C illustrates the situation for θ equal to 45° and since theposts have less effect on current flow than in the previous two cases,the velocity curve 109 is seen to reach a leveling out portion fairlyrapidly with the measured velocity level being at a position where area112 is equal to area 113. For the 45° example v A would be equal to0.707, with the difference between the measured value v_(m) and themaximum actual value v_(A) being designated Δv. It is seen that as theangle θ increases, the effect of the posts become less and less suchthat Δ v's decrease in magnitude as does the ratio of Δv to v_(A).

FIG. 5 illustrates a plan view of the present invention, with FIGS. 5Athrough 5C illustrating the velocity curves for the same respectiveangles of FIGS. 4A through 4C. For the 0° situation, velocity curve 116is very similar to curve 100 of FIG. 4A, and the measured value v_(m) isthat value where the areas 117 and 118 are equal above and below thev_(m) level. The difference between v_(A) and v_(m) is designated Δv.

For the 15° flow in FIG. 5B, curve 120 is dissimilar to its counterpartcurve 105 in FIG. 4B due to the fact that the ring presents anobstruction to flow even at the 15° angle. Again equal areas 122 and 123define the measured value v_(m) with the difference Δv between v_(A) andv_(m) being greater than the corresponding Δv in FIG. 4B.

In FIG. 5C for the 45° case, curve 125 is quite different from itscounterpart in FIG. 4C due to the presence of the ring obstruction inthe flow path. Equal areas 126 and 127 define the value of v_(m) and itis seen that Δ to v is much more than its counterpart in FIG. 4C.

Only one acoustic path is analyzed since the results obtained for thesecond path would be similar to that obtained with the first.

In actual tests, the ratio of Δv to v_(A) varied significantly whereasthat same ratio with the present invention remained substantiallyconstant. Test results may be illustrated with respect to FIG. 6 whereinθ is plotted on the horizontal axis and relative velocity on thevertical axis. Curve 130 is a true cosine response curve illustratingwhat the actual velocity v_(A) should be as a function of θ, in theabsence of any obstructions. Curve 131 represents the velocitymeasurements obtained with the prior art post apparatus and curve 132represents the velocity measurements obtained with the embodiment of theinvention illustrated in FIG. 2A. The vertical distance between the truecosine curve 130 and the curve 131 at any angle represents the Δv'splotted for example in FIGS. 4A through 4C. Similarly, the verticaldistance between the true cosine curve 130 and curve 132 at any anglerepresents the Δv's plotted for example in FIGS. 5A through 5C. The Δv'sin the present invention get smaller in proportion the values of curve130 as a function of θ whereas the same is not true of the prior art.

This is illustrated in FIG. 7 wherein θ in degrees is plotted on thehorizontal axis and the ratio of Δv to v actual (v_(A) ) representing apercentage error, is plotted on the vertical axis. The curve 134represents the percentage error for the case of 0.375 inch (0.952 cm.)cylindrical probes spaced at a distance of 16 inches (40.64 cm.). It isseen that when the current is in line with the acoustic path the erroris approximately 13% with the error decreasing to 0° at approximately50°. With this curve the measured readings could be corrected, howeverthis would require a knowledge of flow direction and moving parts toobtain such flow direction are undesirable especially for longdeployment periods.

The percentage error with the present invention is illustrated by curve135, plotted for the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 2A with thepreviously given dimensions, and curve 136 plotted for the embodimentillustrated in FIGS. 3 and 3A with the previously given dimensions. Itis seen that for the hydrofoil design, the percentage error isrelatively constant at about 6%, and with the tubular design thepercentage error is relatively constant at about 15%, over the wholerange of θ equals 0° to 90°. FIG. 7 therefore illustrates that with thepresent invention errors in the measurement as a function of angle ofincidence of the current is substantially a constant independent of theangle and it is therefore possible to correct the velocity readings tothe actual readings by a simple scaling factor in the computationcircuitry.

By applying a scaling factor of for example 15% the resulting curve 132of FIG. 6 would closely approximate the true cosine curve 130, asillustrated in FIG. 8 wherein scaled curve 132 is designated 132'.Similar results obtain with the hyrofoil design by applying a scalingfactor of approximately 6%.

The mechanism by which the circular support accomplishes this constantflow velocity error for any incident current direction is illustrated inFIG. 9. Very basically, and with additional reference to FIGS. 4Athrough C and 5A through C, current incident on the ring at some angle θhas an obstruction interposed in its path due to the ring configuration.For example the instantaneous current at some point x_(i) along theacoustic path would be the same as that at some distance x_(j) in FIG.4A which equals d_(i) (FIG. 9) as though the current were in line withan imaginary post 92'. For any incident current angle, the actualhydrodynamic analysis involves determining the elemental distances d₁,d₂, . . . d_(i) etc. from the circular section of the ring to the pointsx₁, x₂ . . . x_(i) etc. and then arithmetically integrating the obtainedmagnitudes.

While a ring with a circular cross section, as in FIG. 2A, effectivelyeliminates measurement errors in the measurement plane, it does littleto modify the current which flows at an angle to the measurement plane.This condition can exist if the meter is mounted such that it can tiltwith respect to the horizontal, or if the current has a verticalcomponent. The hydrofoil cross section illustrated in FIG. 3A, however,does solve this problem within a selected tilt range. For example, aportion of a ring 150 is illustrated in FIG. 10, showing the hydrofoilcross section and tilted such that it and the measurement plane p are atan angle α with respect to current flow. With the orientationillustrated, and in the absence of the ring 150, the component ofcurrent velocity along the measurement plane p would be reduced from itsactual value by a factor of cosine α. However, with the hydrofoildesign, the flow over the trailing edge of the hydrofoil is increaseddue to the angle of attack and the effect, within certain limits, isinversely proportional to the cosine of α thus resulting in asubstantially self-compensating arrangement.

FIG. 11 illustrates the effect of varying tilt angles. Tilt angle α isplotted on the horizontal scale and relative percentage error is plottedon the vertical scale. Results illustrate that between tilt angles ±15°,the error is no more than 2%.

Various electronic implementations are available for obtaining fluidvelocity indications, and FIG. 12 illustrates one such arrangement. Theelectronic section 152 which is in signal communication with the supportring 153 containing the transducers, includes a sing around circuitryportion 155 which triggers a transmitter 158 which, in turn, providesproper transmitting signals to the transducers in the ring 153 by way ofswitch 159. Signals produced by the transducers as a result of acousticimpingement, are provided through switch 159 to the receiver 161 insignal communication with the sing around circuitry 155.

Basically, the electronic section measures that part of the currentcomponent along mutually orthogonal acoustic paths with the tworesulting outputs defining two components of the current referenced tothe housing. These two components v_(x) and v_(y) are in the form ofnumerical representations which are placed into respective v_(x) andv_(y) registers in circuit 163 for outputting so as to obtain currentvelocity with direction. This calculation may be made either at themeter site or at a remote location. One such electronic measuring systemis more fully described and claimed in copending application Ser. No.574,671 filed May 5, 1975 by C. E. Hardies and assigned to the assigneeof the present invention and hereby incorporated by reference.

The output v_(x) and v_(y) define the two components of the currentreferenced to the meter. If the meter is in a fixed position withreference to the earth's coordinates, v_(x) and v_(y) can also definethe magnetic vectors v_(n) (north-south) and v_(e) (east-west). Wherethe meter is free to rotate a compass must be added to measure theorientation of the meter with respect to the earth's coordinate system.In order to accomplish this, there may be provided a compass 165 forproviding an orientation output signal to a transformation computer 167so that the meter output v_(x) and v_(y) may be rotated to the earth'scoordinate system. The transformation computer 167 is merely a circuitwhich multiplies the v_(x) and v_(y) readings by the sin or cosine ofthe angular deviation θ as indicated by the compass 165 and performs anarithmetic operation as follows:

    v.sub.n =v.sub.x cosine θ-v.sub.y sin θ and v.sub.e =v.sub.x sin θ+v.sub. y cosine θ

The entire electronic section 152 may be placed into a housing 170 asillustrated in FIG. 13 connected to the ring 70 previously illustratedin FIGS. 3 and 3A, by means of relatively narrow support struts 173 to176.

The underside of the ring 70 is illustrated in the absence oftransducers and polyurethane material to show the groove undersurfaceand notches for transducers. At least one and preferably all of thesupport struts 173 to 176 are hollow so that wires may be insertedtherein for signal communication between the transducers and theelectronic section in housing 170.

I claim: .[.1. Fluid flow measuring apparatus comprising: transducer..]. .[.2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein: A. said support means is a continuous circular ring..].
 3. Apparatus according to claim .[.2.]. .Iadd.5 .Iaddend.wherein: A. said ring has a circular cross section.
 4. Apparatus according to claim .[.2.]. .Iadd.5 .Iaddend.wherein:A. said ring has a hydrofoil shaped cross section defining a rounded leading edge and a tapered trailing edge.
 5. Fluid flow measuring apparatus comprising:A. a plurality of pairs of acoustic transducers; B. a support ring .Iadd.having a plurality of recesses and .Iaddend.supporting said transducers .Iadd.within respective ones of said recesses.Iaddend.; C. an electronics section coupled to and in signal communication with said transducers for obtaining current velocity measurements; D. said transducers being supported by said ring such that the transducers of each said pair are acoustically coupled to one another along an acoustic path; E. each said acoustic path being within the central portion of said ring. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein:A. two pairs of said transducers are provided and B. said acoustic paths are mutually perpendicular. .[.7. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein: A. said support ring includes a plurality of notches; B. each said transducer being positioned within a respective one of said notches..].
 8. Apparatus according to claim .[.7.]. .Iadd.5 .Iaddend.wherein:A. said transducers are covered with a potting material having similar acoustic transmission properties as the ambient water medium.
 9. Apparatus according to claim 8 wherein:A. said potting material is shaped to conform with the cross sectional shape of said support ring.
 10. Apparatus according to claim .[.7.]. .Iadd.5 .Iaddend.wherein:A. said support ring includes a grooved portion, communicative with said .[.notches.]. .Iadd.recesses.Iaddend., for placement of signal conducting wires.
 11. Apparatus according to claim 5 which includes:A. a housing member; B. said electronics section being contained within said housing member; and C. strut means connecting said housing member with said support ring.
 12. Apparatus according to claim 11 wherein:A. said strut means includes a plurality of support struts; B. at least one of said support struts being hollow for receipt of signal conducting wires between said electronics section and said support ring. 